Sam & Max: The Non-Walkthrough

Possibly no one but tieboy will care about this; but I decided to list everything I could find in the bodacious 1994 LucasArts game Sam & Max Hit the Road that has nothing to do with winning. (Most of these seem to occur in the first part of the game.)

In general, talk to everyone. Try all four options, especially the rubber duck. Usually there's at least two different 'questions' Sam will ask.

And look at everything; Sam's descriptions can be amusing. (I won't list all the individual cute things you can find this way, but I point out a couple below. Also, looking at the DeSoto gives a different message in almost every location.)

Try picking up something that can't be picked up. There are no less than six sequential and increasingly funny error messages. Eventually you'll destroy Sam's soul.

There's three little games you can buy at Snuckey's (a different one at each): Car Bomb (a version of Battleship), a dress-up game, and a coloring book. The best of these is Car Bomb. If you wait too long to make a move, Max will start abusing you.

There's also the highway surfing game, down in Mexico on the map.

If you leave the game unattended for awhile, a screen saver starts up. Various garishly colored Sams and Maxes walk by.

At the office:

The TV works; fix it and you can see Mr. Ed.
Before picking up the blacklight, turn off the lights in the office. Now you can go use the blacklight to see Max's '60s posters. (Also note that the skull's eyes glow.)
Use the dartboard; Sam will throw the darts and axe.
Look at the roach farm, and Max will feed the roaches a sandwich. Better yet, try to use the sandwich; Max will say "Me! Me! Me!" and do it for you.
If you've been away for awhile, the green light will be flashing on the answering machine. Use it to listen to the message; there are at least three messages.
In the corridor: try going upstairs.

Outside the office:

Walk into the gun/liquor/baby needs store; Max will attack a robber.
After some time, a mangy-looking grey cat will appear. You can talk to him, but you won't get much out of him. Curiously, he doesn't want fish.
Max will poke at the bloodstain on the curbside.

At the Circus:

Sam can't ring the bell, but Max can.
Playing Wak-a-rat, you can hit Max. (As usual, it doesn't hurt him.) If you play to lose, the rats start to taunt you.
Note the 'Evelyn Morrison' reference in the Tunnel of Love.
The bats squeal if you shine the blacklight on them.
You can talk to the freaks in the sideshow (though not much).
Max is generally unruly here. He jumps up and down on Trixie's bed. Once you stop the swan in the tunnel, he'll also try to steal the hangman's axe.

At the World of Fish:

Use Max on the netful of fish, and he'll take one and feed it to Bubbles (the fish in the tank).

At the Ball of Twine:

You can use the binoculars after you've been to the later places... Sam will say "That was a nice trip down memory lane."

At the Gator Emporium:

You can golf using the golf balls and, of course, dunk Max. You can also hit the various obstacles on the course and they'll react.
Max sometimes comes down and looks out of the screen at you. He does this in several places, but somehow it's particularly noticeable here.

You can leave Max in the dunk tank and leave. Sam will wander sadly around and refuse to do certain things (e.g. ride the Tunnel of Love... "It wouldn't be romantic without Max"). Also try that picking-up-unpickable-objects sequence again-- the last couple messages differ.

At Snuckey's:

Try to talk to the guy eating ice cream.
You can't buy other merchandise or ride the horse, but at least you get good error messages.
There are differences between the three stores:

East

South

West

Background

Trees

Bayou

Desert

Mascot

Jackalope

Shrimp

Cactus

Game

Car-bomb

Color-it

Dress-up

Clerk

Moustache

neither

Moustache & glasses

Eater's shirt

blue

red

pink

Window

ice cream

donut

corn dog

At the Mystery Vortex:

You can talk to the 8-ball. Try each talk option more than once.
If you play Car Bomb while inside the vortex, the game shakes.
You can play the piano.

In Uncle Shavoul's room:

Read the clippings on the wall (there are at least 8 stories).
You can drink from the water bottle.

At Bumpusville:

Throw money in the well (at least 3 times).
Don't forget to examine all the plaques on the wall. The game's designers apparently didn't think much of country music...

At the Dino park and Bungee Jump:

Listen to the dinos.
Look at the presidents' heads.
Talk to the kids in line at the tarpit slide.
After bungee-jumping, talk to the girl again.
Try all the options a few times, there are quite a few variations here... sometimes, if you hit ! Max will jump.

At the Jungle Inn:

Try to make a phone call (before you have a disguise).
In the lobby, watch Max; he'll go pull the toucan's tail, and amuse himself opening the automatic doors by waving his hand. (He'll wave this way in other places, but this is the only place it does something.)
Try going out the back door after Conrad has been captured.
Ask all the bigfoots about the totem poles. Ask Bruno again after three of them have been dispatched.

During the credits, you can of course shoot at the targets. You can also shoot at the credits themselves.

You can play the CD as an audio CD. I rather like the cheesy retro main theme. But watch out, you'll end up hearing Conrad Bumpus's song again.

Max in other LucasArts games

Doctor X tells me that every LucasArts game between Sam & Max Hit The Road and Grim Fandango (the last game before their rights expired) has Max in it. Verified sightings (right from the doctor... also, tieboy found me a site with more sightings):

Dark Forces: On the Hoth level, from the starting point, back up to the cliff edge. There'll be a ledge below it. If you duck down, you'll find a cave with some ammo and health in it. Turn on your auto-map and you'll see that the cave is in the shape of Max's head.

Outlaws: On the Marshal training level, one of the doors leads to Max in a gunslinger's outfit. He always killed me.

Jedi Knight: (Haven't gotten this one myself, but I've seen screenshots.) On one of the levels where you're fighting in a populated area, one of the bystanders flees into a house. If you use Force Speed to enter the house before the door closes, you'll find Max there. (I'm told you can pick him up and use him as a weapon.)

Grim Fandango: In the tattoo parlor, look at the sample tattoos on the wall. Max is one of them.

Thanks to tieboy, of course; and for additional info, Ryan Bayne and Doctor X.